The concepts of machismo and marianismo affects the drug trade in a way that everything becomes a matter of sex. Due to machismo, men are often driven to be at the frontlines and become the first participants in the drug trade. Life-threatening roles of dealing drugs, gun violence, and fights are often given to men, as men are often pressured into thinking that these kinds of work show and prove their manhood. On the other hand, women are often left at the sidelines. While they, most of the time, do not have to deal with violence first-hand, women often have to deal with the after effects of the war on drugs. They are the shock absorbers of grief brought about by capture and death of the drug traffickers; as well as having to deal with the stress of answering concerns for the drug dealers in their absence. At the end, these toxic sex-related concepts often limit and stereotype the sexes into specific roles in the drug trade.
More often than not, narco corridos, despite being the target of the violent war on drugs and perceived as villains and seen as criminals, have been revered by the Mexican people. This is because corridos heighten the issue and bring awareness on war on drugs and everything that surrounds it. Drug dealers often come from the low sectors of society, choosing a job that risks not only their lives but of people around them is not their choice rather, driven by their life conditions. Bringing the issue of narco trafficking in plain sight, thanks to the war on drugs, sheds light on the political and social conditions disadvantaged Mexican people had to deal with day by day. It helps other people from the more privileged sectors of society to know that such people exists, that they are driven to the bloody war because of the poor living conditions of the country they are in. Thus, narco corridos are the unsung heros of the poor Mexican people, as they are the symbol of their plight who can bring their message across other members of society.
